Seasonal variance of 25-(OH) vitamin D in the general population of Estonia, a Northern European country

Abstract

Background: Vitamin D has a wide variety of physiological functions in the human body. There is increasing evidence that low serum levels of this vitamin have an important role in the pathogenesis of different skeletal and extra-skeletal diseases. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency is common at northern latitudes. There are few population-based studies in the northern European region looking at the issue in a wider age group. We aimed to measure Vitamin D level in the general population of Estonia (latitude 59°N), a North-European country where dairy products are not fortified with vitamin D.

UV and dietary predictors of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations among young shift-working nurses and implications for bone density and skin cancer

“…Other studies conducted at similar latitudes have noted as much as 73 % of their study population to have inadequate vitamin D status (6,27) . We may have observed a comparatively low proportion with deficient and inadequate vitamin D status because younger age, white ethnicity, higher BMI and tanning bed use were prevalent in our study population and are associated with protection against deficient and inadequate vitamin D status (5)(6)(7)(8) .…”

Vitamin D deficiency showed association with knee osteoarthritis in Tamilnadu population – A pilot study

“…12 The changes in sub-chondral bone play a vital role in the development of cartilage lesions in OA patients. 4,9,8,11 At this stage, bone resorption markers are higher and bone formation markers are lower. 6,8,13,16 Low serum 25-OH vitamin D increases osteoblastic activity and bone turnover.…”

“…18 In patients with hip OA who underwent total hip replacement, 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels were found to have positive correlation with both pre and post-operative Harris hip scores. 4,6,[16][17][18][19] Therefore, it is obvious that in patients undergoing total hip replacement vitamin D deficiency was a risk factor for a suboptimal outcome. 5,7,19 However, few studies failed to show significant association between the low level of serum 25-OH vitamin D and the development of OA.…”

“…Vitamin D deficiency is a under diagnosed medical condition since a significant proportion of the population in many countries and regions around the world have low serum 25-OH vitamin D levels. [1][2][3][4] The serum level of 25-hydroxy vitamin D depends on various parameters such as ultraviolet irradiation (determined by the time of day) to skin, skin pigmentation, season, [5][6][7] latitude, age, dietary habits, gender, obesity, and many others factors. [6][7][8][9] It is known that vitamin D has role in mineralization, demineralization, remodeling, and maintenance of bone.…”

Vitamin D Insufficiency in Adolescents: Results of Year-Round Screening in Moscow

“…При обследовании 118 взрослых молодых женщин и мужчин, проживающих в Турции, выявлено, что средний сыворо-точный уровень 25(OH)D составляет 28,4 ± 10,4 нг/мл в августе и 13,8 ± 6,6 нг/мл в феврале [9]. По данным Kull и соавт., дефицит витамина D (< 20,8 нг/мл) испыты-вает 73% населения Эстонии в зимние месяцы и 29% -в летние месяцы года, в то время как тяжелый дефи-цит D (< 10,1 нг/мл) зимой наблюдается у 8% населения и у 1% -летом [10]. Аналогичная закономерность наблю-дается при анализе сезонной вариабельности сывороточ-ного содержания холекальциферола у детей в возрасте 5-14 лет, проживающих в Новой Зеландии.…”